INAUGURAL SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
NATIONAL STADIUM, DAR ES SALAAM,
21 DECEMBER, 2005
Chairman
of Chama Cha Mapinduzi and
Outgoing President of the United
His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa;
Your
Majesty King Letsie III of the
Your
Excellencies Heads of State and Government;
Vice
President of the United
Hon. Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein;
President
of the Revolutionary Government of
His Excellency Amani Abeid Karume;
Former
President of the United
His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi;
Speaker
of Parliament of the United
Hon. Pius Msekwa;
Speaker
of the
Hon. Pandu Ameir Kificho;
Chief
Justice of the United
Hon. Barnabas Samatta;
Chief
Justice of
Hon. Hamid Mahmoud Hamid;
Former
President of the Revolutionary Government of
Hon. Dr. Salmin Amour;
Chief
Minister of
Hon. Shamsi Vuai Nahodha;
Former
Prime Ministers;
Defence
and Security Chiefs;
Government
Leaders;
Political
Leaders;
Religious
Leaders;
Distinguished
Guests;
Fellow
Citizens;
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
I am overwhelmed by the great
confidence and trust that you, my fellow citizens, have reposed in me, and in
my party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). It
is, indeed, a pity that our language does not have the vocabulary to
appropriately convey to you the sentiments of tremendous gratitude I feel
today.
I ask that each one of you be
satisfied with the limited vocabulary we have, as I say: Thank you; thank you
very much.
I will have occasion to explain how I
intend to thank you in more practical terms – in terms of programmes and strategies
to implement the CCM Election Manifesto – when I address Parliament during its first sitting in Dodoma
on 30 December, 2005. The only reason I
wanted to talk to you today is to thank you.
My first gratitude goes to my Party,
CCM, for entrusting me with the task to lead the implementation of its
policies. There are many qualified people
and leaders in our party. If my fellow
CCM members had not been confident about my ability to implement party policies
they would not have had any problem to find another candidate. I thank those in our party who, like me, came
forward to seek nomination. They used
their democratic right, a right which is safeguarded in CCM, and they are all capable
leaders. It is my hope that they will
put their abilities and capacities at my disposal as together we seek to
further strengthen Chama Cha Mapinduzi and develop our nation.
It is impossible for me to mention all
CCM leaders, and all fellow CCM members, who worked so hard with me during the
election campaign. I thank each and
everyone of them. I thank our Chairman,
His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa; the Vice-President of Tanzania, Hon. Dr.
Ali Mohamed Shein; Former President of Tanzania, His Excellency Ali Hassan
Mwinyi; the two CCM Vice-Chairmen, President Amani Abeid Karume and my elder
brother, Dr. John Samuel Malecela; Former President of Zanzibar, Hon. Dr.
Salmin Amour; CCM Secretary-General, Hon. Philip Mangula; All Regional and
District CCM Chairpersons and Secretaries; CCM candidates for Parliament, House
of Representatives and Local Government Councils; my friends, including the
electoral campaign network, and all CCM members.
To you all I say, thank you very
much. And I have only one message for
you all today. We have earned the
mandate of our people to continue occupying the State House. That task is done, and over. Now, beginning today, let us be even more united,
let us strengthen good governance, and let us live up to the promises we made to our people, and to the world.
In this category of thanks, I should
like to recognize and thank my family – the immediate family and the extended
family. They have been a fountain of
strength and an anchor of hope in a tempest.
I thank you my wife, Salma. You
surprised me by proving a formidable politician and campaigner in your own
right. And I thank all our children for
their unwavering support and inspiration.
Thank you very much, my family.
The second category of thanks is to
you, the people of
Thirdly, I should like to thank the
Heads of State and Government, or their representatives, who accepted the
invitation extended by my predecessor to come and witness as
I thank my predecessor, His Excellency
Benjamin William Mkapa, who in his wisdom and farsightedness, prepared me for the
top leadership by appointing and keeping me as his Foreign Minister during the
entire ten years of his leadership. This
Ministry is our face to the world. And
he did not only keep me in this position; he was also my tutor. As a result, today, all these world leaders
who are here to witness this occasion are not strangers to me; and I am not a
stranger to them. Surely, this is a good
position from which to assume my new duties.
I have been well prepared to implement
A few days ago, when my predecessor
was bidding farewell to the Diplomatic Corps, he divulged one secret about
Tanzanians. He did so by quoting one
African proverb that says: “If we stand tall it is because we stand on the
shoulders of those who came before us.”
It is not in the nature of Tanzanians
to demolish what was built by previous governments because, fortunately, those
who came before us are giants: The
Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere; our Second President,
Ali Hassan Mwinyi; and my dear brother the Third President, Benjamin William
Mkapa. Is anyone surprised when I stand
so tall, standing as I do on the shoulders of these giants? No one should be surprised when I, Jakaya
Mrisho Kikwete, walk tall, with confidence, carrying forward the excellent work
done by my predecessors.
My
Fellow Citizens,
You have entrusted me with this
responsibility, a major responsibility, but I will walk tall because I am
President of the United Republic of Tanzania: A country and people of peace; a
country and people united; a country and people who cherish solidarity; and a country
and people characterised by fraternity and laughter; a confident country and
people, deserving dignity in the council of nations.
I said this during the election
campaign, and now having been sworn in I should like to repeat it. The Fourth Phase Government will not
disparage or unravel what was done by previous governments. We go forward; not backwards. Those who expect erratic changes of policy
and direction will be disappointed.
The Fourth Phase Government will build
on the foundation laid by previous governments, and carry on with the good work
in line with the needs of the moment and the realities of the world we live
in. We will promote and protect our
interests, and those interests we share with the rest of the world, and we will
do so with new speed, with new determination and with new vigour. Working together we can ensure that
ultimately government efforts translate into a better life for every Tanzanian.
Let me also thank opposition political
leaders and candidates for livening up
the campaign, and giving us a challenge.
Now the elections are over, and I should like them to work with us to
build and develop our nation. The
My final words of gratitude are to all
those who worked so hard to prepare for, and conduct, this ceremony. These include the Honourable Chief Justice,
and the various Committees. I thank and
commend our armed forces for guaranteeing peace and security, and for the
magnificent parade we witnessed today.
Your capacity and ability is obvious.
As I take office, I am proud to inherit such disciplined and able armed
forces. Thank you very much.
My
Fellow Citizens,
I should end here. As I said, I am overwhelmed by the confidence
and trust you have placed upon me. I
will have occasion to speak more substantively in Parliament, and in the days
ahead. Today is a day of joy, of
celebration, and of gratitude. And our
gratitude also goes to Almighty God for saving our country from the turmoil in
which other countries, in
God Bless
God Bless
I thank you for your kind attention.